1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrical connectors and specifically connectors for electrically associating portable, exchangeable electronic elements, such as integrated circuit cards, with a circuit substrate.
2. Brief Description of Prior Developments
User exchangeable electronic devices, particularly miniature integrated circuit cards known as compact flash cards, have been developed as user changeable memory or program sources for electronic cameras and other electronic components. One standardized card form comprises a miniature rectangular card having substantially flat top and bottom surfaces. The bottom surface carries an array of contact pads located in a recess formed near the front edge of the card. Power supply (V.sub.CC) and ground contacts are incorporated into the leading edge of the card. The recessed array of contacts on the card presents a design difficulty. In order to prevent undue damage and wear to the contact elements of the card connector, it is desirable to avoid having the bottom front lip of the card engage the contacts. One approach to address this difficulty is exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,186. The basic approach shown in this patent is to slide the card into a rotatable carrier and rotate the card against the connector contacts. A disadvantage of this approach is that it requires a substantial amount of surface area of the receiving component to be devoted to structure for receiving and rotating the card.
From the component manufacturer's standpoint, a more desirable approach is for the card to slide linearly into the component through a card receiving slot. A connector embodying such a linear sliding insertion action is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,323. However, the connector shown in this patent is relatively complex and has a number of moving parts. As a result, this connector would have a relatively high manufacturing cost.
The present invention provides a card connector that has a relatively simplified design, high reliability, and low manufacturing cost.